The impact of the COVID-19 on households’ hourly electricity consumption in Canada

[Display omitted] •Electricity use in 500 households was compared before and during COVID lockdown.•Post-COVID peaks are 15–20% higher than pre-COVID.•60% of the Post-COVID electricity use increase was due to warmer temperatures.•Profile pattern of 36.3% of customers changed from pre- to post-COVID-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy and buildings 2021-11, Vol.250, p.111280-111280, Article 111280
Main Authors: Abdeen, Ahmed, Kharvari, Farzam, O'Brien, William, Gunay, Burak
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cluster analysis
Clustering
Consumption
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 lockdown
Electrical loads
Electricity
Electricity consumption
Energy consumption
Household electricity consumption
Households
Load profiles
Occupant behavior
Pandemics
Peak load
Residential energy
Statistical analysis
Vector quantization
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Summary:[Display omitted] •Electricity use in 500 households was compared before and during COVID lockdown.•Post-COVID peaks are 15–20% higher than pre-COVID.•60% of the Post-COVID electricity use increase was due to warmer temperatures.•Profile pattern of 36.3% of customers changed from pre- to post-COVID-19 in spring.•Usage pattern post-COVID slightly shifted from off-peak to mid-, and on-peak hours. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a tremendous impact on our societies, including changes in household energy consumption. Using measured electricity use data from 500 homes in Ottawa, Canada, this study applies changepoint analysis, descriptive statistics, k-means clustering, and the corresponding change of electricity utility bills before and after COVID-19. Our analysis indicates that the average household daily electricity consumption increased by about 12% in 2020 relative to 2019, about one-third was due to warmer temperatures, with much of the rest due to the temperature-independent loads (e.g., lighting and appliances). Additionally, the highest five peak loads corresponding to post-COVID are significantly higher (15–20%) than peaks that occurred pre-COVID. The lockdown’s impact on household electricity use is not consistent, and there are noticeable differences among different months, seasons, and day types. Two clusters of household electricity use patterns emerged, with about one-third showing significant increases during the pandemic and the remainder showing only minor changes. On the other hand, in the summer, all customers’ electricity use profile patterns after the pandemic resemble the pattern before the pandemic. Yet, there is a significant increase (from 16.3 to 29.1%) in daily demand after COVID-19. Finally, the average increase in the utility bill post-COVID would be 9.71% if TOU rates were used instead of the flat rate that was implemented as a subsidy to consumers.
ISSN:0378-7788
1872-6178
DOI:10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111280